I Would Never Abandon You
by The Sensational SpiderDom321
Summary: After hearing news about the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover, Tails gets excited to see how he and his best friend are portrayed. But after watching the promo clip, he begins to question his worth to Sonic and how much of a hero he really is. Elsewhere, Sonic has trouble figuring out what's wrong with his best friend. {Thanks to Infinite's Ruby for the title}
1. New Best Buddy?

_**A/N: **Hello, everyone! So, for those who were either lucky enough to attend San Diego Comic Con 2019 last week or have seen this clip on YouTube, you should know that there is a crossover between Sonic the Hedgehog and OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes coming out next week. Personally, I think this crossover looks kinda cool, despite the fact I've never watched a single episode of OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes. For those who have seen the extended promo of the crossover, there is a certain scene in there were Sonic ditches Tails and asks K.O. if he would like to be his new best buddy, much to Tails' dismay. I know this may be used a comedy in the actual episode, but I myself am skeptical. Why would Sonic ditch Tails for some kid? So, that got me thinking... what would happen if Tails reacted to this extended promo and how would he and Sonic work it out?_

_So, that brings us here. This story is meant to be a fun take on Sonic and Tails' brotherhood as well as Tails' reaction to the extended promo. For those who haven't seen the promo, be sure to look it up on YouTube and then come back here. But for those who have seen it, I hope you enjoy the show._

_Ladies and gentlemen, this is "I Would Never Abandon You."_

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_Disclaimer: _ _I am well aware OK K.O. is a show meant for kids and that I shouldn't be getting worked up over something so stupid, but I felt that this would be a fun story to write. Sonic the Hedgehog and other related properties are owned by SEGA. OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and other related properties are owned by Cartoon Network (The same program that killed Ben 10)_

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"_One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered."_  
_**~Michael J. Fox**_

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**New Best Buddy?**

A brand-new morning in the Mystic Ruins started off with a surprise for Miles "Tails" Prower. Normally, the kid would wake up, get himself a cup of tea, eat a nice breakfast, and tinker with his new inventions. Today, he was planning to modify some upgrades to the Tornado as well as do some cleaning to his dusty workshop. Everywhere he looked, dust was everywhere, and he wanted to clean it up before he started sneezing like crazy.

But his morning routine was suddenly interrupted.

As he cooked himself eggs and bacon, he received a phone call from his good friend, Charmy Bee, who wanted to share some news he found off of the internet. The bee sounded excited about something, so he's spent the last two hours telling Tails about something that's happening in two weeks.

Now, as much as he wanted to sit down and enjoy his breakfast, Tails was curious as to what Charmy wanted to tell him. He took his pan of bacon out of the oven and turned off the stove that was cooking his eggs; he was talking to Charmy, as he took off his oven mitts.

Behind him, his robot canine, T-Pup, was munching on a bowl filled with nuts and bolts. He barked happily and started panting like a real dog.

"So, Charmy," Tails said, as he served himself his meal. He reached into the microwave and took out a plate of fresh, steamy, sausage. "What did you say this company was making again?"

"_Right, so there's this TV show I love called 'OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes' and it's the best thing on television!"_ told the six-year-old bee. _"They're doing a crossover and guess what? Both you and Sonic are starring in it!"_

Tails nearly choke on a bite of eggs once he heard that. He punched his stomach and awkwardly swallowed his food. "For real? Sonic and I are starring in a cartoon? Who would have thought?"

"_It's awesome! I keep watching the trailer over and over because it's sooooooooooo good!" _Charmy squealed, as he flew around Chaotix HQ. Much to the annoyance of Vector, who was reading the daily newspaper.

"_Hey! What did I say about flying in the house!?" _the crocodile grunted.

Charmy sat down on the couch, holding his communicator in his hands. _"Tails, you should look at the extended promo on ChaoTube! It's incredible!"_

Tails did as suggested and grabbed his yellow laptop. He logged into ChaoTube and typed into the search bar, _OK K.O.! and Sonic crossover extended promo._

It didn't take him long to find it.

"Is this it at the top?" he inquired. He showed the search suggestions to the bee.

"_Yes! Click it, click it!"_

"Okay, okay," Tails chuckled, as he scrolled to the video and clicked on it. He placed his laptop down and took his place, placing it in front of him. He grabbed his fork and dug into his breakfast, as the video finished loading.

The promo started off with what looked to be an antique shop. According to the sign, it appeared to specialized in selling superhero related items. Just then, Tails heard someone talking as the camera panned closer to the shop.

Suddenly, Tails was shown who he assumed is the main character of the cartoon, K.O. He was talking to his friends about saving the world.

"_All right, Rad and Enid!" _the little boy said. Tails chuckled at how ridiculous his costume looked. _"Are you ready for another action-packed day of protecting our hero plaza from evil robots?"_

One thing the fox noticed was that as the young hero talked, he was mimicking poses that Sonic would do.

"Fighting against evil robots to save the world?" Tails said to himself. "Where have I seen that before?" He laughed at his sarcastic comment.

"_Hey!" _Charmy moaned. _"Don't make fun of the show's concept!"_

"Ha-ha, sorry." Tails shrugged his shoulders.

"_Keep watching, it's getting to the good part!_"

Tails turned back to the video and watched as something suddenly blasted through the door, knocking two cat-like creatures into the air. The projectile was a large, blue ball that moved faster than the speed of light. Tails obviously knew who that was.

It was Sonic the Hedgehog and he looked a lot more animated than usual. He landed on the ground and struck a battle pose. Orange, bold text read, _**Sonic the Hedgehog: Fastest Thing Alive.**_

"Nice!" Tails smiled.

But that wasn't all. Following behind Sonic was none other than a cartoony version of himself. The fox gasped as soon as he saw himself fly around and land next to Sonic. He watched as his info text appeared right in front of him. _**Miles "Tails" Prower: Genius Fox Sidekick.**_

K.O. suddenly turned around let out a huge gasp at the two heroes.

Tails had the same reaction.

"Wow, you weren't kidding, Charmy," he said in excitement. "Sonic and I really _are _in a cartoon. This should be amazing! I can't wait to show this to Sonic! Unless he knows already then I don't need to tell him. See, look at this! I'm so excited, I'm rambling like crazy!"

"_Just wait till you see the rest of the promo!" _Charmy winked. _"Keep watching!"_

Tails continued to watch the rest of the trailer.

The two cat creatures Sonic carelessly bumped into suddenly landed on him and Tails' heads. Sonic grabbed onto the cats and gently placed them down.

"_Whoa, you be careful now, kid," _he smiled. _"Don't want anyone getting hurt on my watch._"

Tails snickered. "Then don't bump into them next time."

The two cats geeked out over Sonic's appearance, as K.O. approached the heroes.

"_Can it be!? Are you THE legendary Sonic the Hedgehog with a power level of ring!?" _K.O. whipped out a trading card with an image of Sonic in the middle. His name was on the bottom and a gold ring was printed beside it. Tails smiled, as he continued eating his food.

"_The one and only, yep." _Sonic replied with a smirk and a wink.

K.O. began jumping around Sonic and Tails like an acrobat. _"Wow, wow, wow, wow! Oh, it's Tails! Wow, wow, wow, WOW! I can't believe I'm talking to THE Sonic. I have a whole notebook of fanart I've made of you!"_

"I hope it's not some of those weird pictures I see online," Tails commented, cringing at the thought of some of those images.

K.O. flipped through his notebook, showcasing highlights from Sonic's adventures. They were all pooly drawn in crayon. _"This one's from when you destroyed the Death Egg, this one's from when you fought the Ultimate Life Form,"_

"I should tell Shadow not to watch this crossover then."

"_And this is when you won the summer and winter sports games."_

"_Gold medal, baby," _Sonic said, as he held up a gold medal from his neck.

"HA!" Tails laughed, almost choking on his sausage. "Wow, they really did their research when it came to this project. So far, they're nailing Sonic's personality… well, for the most part. I cannot wait to see the many brotherly interactions we have in this episode. I bet we have a ton of them!"

"_I really respect a kid with encyclopedic knowledge of my achievements," _Sonic smiled and said to K.O. _"Not enough people like that in this world."_

Finally, the animated counterpart of Tails spoke, and he was mad. _"Hello!? What about me!?"_

"Ha-ha!" Tails from the real world said, but as he laughed, he began to realize that line of dialogue from him was delivered in a stern tone. He placed his fork down and scratched his head, wondering what the deal with that line was. "Hmm? Was that line meant to be a joke?"

He watched as Sonic kneeled down to K.O.'s level.

"_What's your name, kid?" _he asked.

"_K.O.!"_

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

That last sentence causes Tails to spit out a piece of sausage. It slapped against the laptop's screen and slowly slid downward, leaving a greasy streak in the middle. Tails was coughing on another piece of food in his mouth.

Pounding his stomach as hard as he could, Tails finally coughed up a piece of scrambled egg.

He looked at the computer screen and wiped it clean with a napkin, astonished at what Sonic just said.

"What did he just say?" Tails asked, as he rewound the clip and played it back.

He watched as Sonic kneeled down to K.O.'s level.

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_K.O.!"_

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

Tails did the same thing he did before; he replayed the same scene.

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

He didn't know what to say.

He didn't know what to think.

There was no way this was possible.

Sonic the Hedgehog was ditching his own best friend, who's been with him since day one, for some kid he's met for nearly a minute. Tails found this hard to believe. He did nothing but stare at the screen. He paused the trailer and did nothing but look at a picture of Sonic poking K.O.'s nose. It reminded him of when Sonic would always poke his nose when they were younger. The fox refused to believe this was real. No way would Sonic ever think about abandoning his best pal.

But as he continued to think, his thoughts were interrupted by a concerned Charmy Bee, who expected a better reaction from Tails than what he was getting.

"_Tails? Are you all right? What did you think of the promo? Awesome, right?... Hello, Tails?... Buddy?"_

Not knowing what to respond, Tails slowly pressed the hang up button and ended his call with the bee.

He was still dumbfounded and confused about this clip. Did Sonic really say that? Did he nonchalantly offer some kid a chance to be his best buddy, ignoring the fact he already has one. He played the rest of the trailer and saw footage that didn't make him feel any better.

While his animated self-stood behind Sonic, looking to be on the verge of tears, K.O. magically grew angel wings; his eyes were sparkly, and he flew Sonic with glee.

"_You really mean it?" _K.O. asked.

And the most disappointing part of the promo happened….

It ended.

"Wait, what!? That's it!" Tails gasped. He exited full screen mode and rewound the video again, trying to see if he somehow missed some more footage. He replayed the video, but all he got was what he just watched. He did this a few more times before he finally gave up. What he just witnessed was all he got. "You got to be kidding me! T-there's no way he says that!"

Tails clicked on the search bar and typed in, _OK K.O. and Sonic crossover footage._

He spent the next few seconds searching for anymore trailers, clips, and bootleg recordings to see if he can find out what happens next. He really needed to know what caused Sonic to say something like that and whether he was joking or being serious. But all he got were just smaller clips of the same promo he watched. He saw a video that showed an exclusive clip from a comic book convention, but it was just the same thing but in high-definition quality. Tails shook his head and scratched behind his ears.

"There's no way… t-there's just no way," he whispered to himself. "That has to be some kind of audio error. Because there's no way Sonic would leave me for some random kid. I hope I'm not coming across a selfish when I say that because I'm not saying, _'oh, Sonic can't have any other friends except me. I want him all to myself like some crazy stalker!_' No! That's not what I mean. What I'm saying is that Sonic would never ditch me and ignore me because some kid has crazy amount of knowledge about him! There's no way! This _has _to be some kind of a recording error!"

The kitsune turned around and lowered his eyes on T-Pup.

He had finished his food a while ago and was listening to his owner ramble for the past few minutes.

Wagging his tail and panting, T-Pup looked at his owner, confused.

"Can you believe this, T-Pup?" Tails inquired. "There's obviously something wrong with this trailer."

The robot dog just blankly stared and raised an eyebrow. He stopped panting, but his tail still wiggled.

Tails rubbed his eyes and turned back to his computer. T-Pup approached his creator and rubbed himself against his legs. Tails continued scrolling through more videos with his left hand; his right hand was petting T-Pup. He looked down at his dog with a warm smile and closed his eyes.

"I think I'm going insane, T-Pup," he said gently. "Like I said, it could just be an error in the script. Maybe one of the writers wasn't doing their job right… let's see what the comments say, they're mostly reliable."

Tails exited out of the search section and went back to the original video. As it played, he scrolled to the very bottom and clicked on, _Comments. _To his surprise, there weren't that many.

It didn't take him to find the first one.

"There's no way this garbage is real," Tails read. "Sonic would think twice before ditching someone like Tails… see, T-Pup, I told ya there's been some mistake. Gosh, people on the internet can be so helpful… what's this one?"

He read the next comment. "Don't tell me the plot of the episode goes like this, Sonic replaces Tails, Tails gets jealous, Tails becomes the bad guy, Sonic beats Tails and doesn't apologize for his action. Knowing this stupid show, that's probably gonna happen… well, I certainly hope it doesn't…. what does this one say?"

Tails leaned closer to his screen and read another comment. "Now, why would Sonic abandon Tails like that?... I was wondering that myself, random ChaoTube user…. Wait, there's a reply to this comment."

He clicked on the reply and it was the opposite of what he expected. "Why wouldn't he? Tails is useless… well, that's not very nice. I mean, it's just one person, but that was harsh… wait, there're a couple more replies."

Tails clicked on the replies and scanned through them.

"Yeah, Tails is useless. Have you seen footage of him during the Phantom Ruby War? All he does it let some pudgy fat Sonic and a Rookie do all of the work…

"For real? Does he actually do that?

"Yep. It's so horrible. He used to be this big hero who saved Station Square from a giant missile and even helped save the planet from Space Colony Ark. Nowadays, he's just some useless pawn in Sonic's shadow."

T-Pup looked up at his owners and softly whimpered. He could tell something was wrong, as he watched as Tails cupped his hand over his mouth. He continued reading some of the comments.

_Sonic and K.O. are gonna be the best duo ever!_

_What does Tails have against a martial artist like K.O. If you ask me, K.O. could knock that two-tailed freak out cold._

_Tails is so useless compared to K.O. This is exactly what Sonic needed; a sidekick who can actually do stuff._

_Why would Sonic want to be friends with a dope like Tails?_

That last one got to the heroic kitsune.

Removing his hand from his mouth, Tails read the rest of the comments and they were no different than what he read before. He couldn't believe all of the nonsense he was reading. He found it difficult to believe there were some people out there who supported the idea of Sonic being friends with some cartoon character and leaving the one he already has. But what he found more insulting was the comment on how he turned from a hero to some loser who lets others do the work for him.

And the worst part of that comment… was that it was true.

Tails recalled that during the past few adventures, he hadn't done much like he used to in the past. When he and Sonic ventured into Eggman's Interstellar Amusement Park, all he did was translate secret alien language. During the Time Eater incident, Sonic and his younger self journeyed through different zones from their past. Both versions of Tails just sat and cheered on their friends. One of the most embarrassing moments for Tails during those adventures was when he and Sonic teamed up with Eggman on the Lost Hex.

What was so bad about that one? Tails knew the answer to that.

He remembered acting like a spoiled brat on that escapade. In other words, he treated Sonic cruelly when he was working with Eggman to stop the Deadly Six from destroying the world.

But what really got him upset was when he remembered his involvement in the Phantom Ruby War.

Not only did he leave the Resistance and fly solo, but he didn't bother to fight back against enemies that attacked him. He recalled being attacked by a replica of Chaos and instead of fighting back, all he did was cower in fear, as another Sonic from another dimension emerged through a portal, taking out Chaos in the process.

And even when he found out that his real brother was alive… he still did nothing.

All he did was cheer for Sonic, the smaller Sonic, and the Rookie they worked with.

Tails didn't know what to do now.

The truth was being thrown at his face and he didn't know how to handle it. He wasn't sure whether these people were right, and that Sonic should find someone like K.O. as a best friend or if they were wrong… he was leaning towards the former.

T-Pup whimpered again and cuddled himself next to his owner. He jumped on the couch and nested himself underneath the fox's arm.

A small tear dripped down the fox' face, as he heard voices in his head. Voices that repeated the same conversation he and Sonic had during the Lost Hex incident.

"_Tails, we need Eggman to shut down his machine."_

"_And you don't trust me to do it."_

"_What!? No! I trust you, Tails. It's just—"_

"_No you don't! You trust Eggman more! Do you know how much that bites!?"_

Tails wiped a tear off his eye after hearing that conversation again.

He gently petted his dog and lowered his head in shame.

"Why would Sonic be friends with a dope like me?"

_**END OF CHAPTER 1**_

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_Being a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails has always been one of my favorite characters. He really speaks to me as a person and I related to him when I was a kid. Playing that mission in Sonic Adventure where he had to protect Station Square from Eggman's Missile really inspired me. Tails is still one of my favorite characters to this day (Knuckles is my #1, Gemerl is my #2) I have been disappointed with the way SEGA has characterized him. In Sonic Colors and Generations, he was good but I wish he did more. In Lost World, that's when he started to have behavioral issues. But in Forces... do I even need to say anything? My friend, TGN, and I have had multiple discussions about this and we both want to see Tails return back to the way he was._

_Again, this story is meant to explore Sonic and Tails' brotherhood as well as explore Tails as a character. I want to see him grow back to the fox he was back in the old Adventure days._

_This story is meant to be a mini-series, meaning it will be short and will not update consistently. But I hope you're interested enough to read more. Speaking of which, you can follow, favorite, rate, and review this story. Let me know if there's anything I should fix or if there are any predictions you guys have for this story. I do love reading some predictions and theories some of my people show me about my stories. Thanks for reading, everyone and tune in next time for..._

_"Chapter 2: A Dope Like Me."_

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**_POST-A/N:_**

_T-Pup first appeared in an old Sonic Game Gear title called "Tails' Adventure." He has also made several appearances in the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics. While he is not the most fleshed out of character (He's just a robotic canine that turns into a tank in Tails' Adventure) I do hope SEGA finds a way to bring him back as a gameplay style for Tails. T-Pup makes an appearance in another Sonic story I have called, "Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb."_

_That's all I have to say for now, folks. Don't forget to R&R and let me know what you think. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time! Peace out, web-heads!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	2. A Dope Like Me

_**A/N: **Hey, everybody! I just wanna give a huge thank you to all of those who have added this story to their favorites as well as those who have reviewed. I want to give my thanks to DawnOfForelsket, GuardianDragon98, ImNotPolo, Infinite's Ruby, Leodragon678, SharpDragonKlaw, TGN, VampireBunny16, and RenegadeHero who all favorited/followed. And I wanna give shoutouts to TGN, Infinite's Ruby, Leodragon678, SharpDragonKlaw, and anthonyba10 for leaving some reviews._

_Last time we saw our two-tailed fox, he watched the trailer for the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and Sonic crossover and he couldn't be anymore depressed. He questioned his worth to the Blue Blur and wondered why Sonic would wanna be friends with a dope like him. In this chapter, we shall see what goes on next with our hero._

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_Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all other related properties belong to SEGA. OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and other related properties belong to Cartoon Network (The same program that killed The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy)_

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"_I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks."  
~__**R. J. Palacio, **__**Wonder**_

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**A Dope Like Me**

The rest of the morning didn't go so smoothly for Tails. He'd spent a few minutes to an hour watching the OK K.O. and Sonic trailer again, doing nothing but replay the last clip where Sonic ditched him for some kid he barely knew. He didn't know how to feel about this. He didn't know how to register it into his mind. And as if watching the trailer over and over again didn't make him feel bad enough, he also spent countless minutes reading the comments.

Most of them supported the fact that Sonic and K.O. were best friends.

Only five comments total disagreed with it.

But not even the nicest comments in the section could put the kitsune in a good mood. Focusing on them was hard when negative reinforcement was clouding his mind. It was troublesome to go through the morning without hearing the voices of those comments whisper in his head.

In an attempt to make himself feel better; Tails sat by the TV with a bowl of mint candy in his lap. This was an odd activity for him to be doing.

He did like to watch TV shows now and then, mostly science fiction and fantasy ones, but he preferred to spend his time either going on an adventure with his friends or tinkering with his machines.

But he wasn't in the mood to go on an escapade nor was he in the mood to work.

He needed some mindless entertainment to take his mind off the trailer.

With T-Pup beside him, he was watching a show where four jokers would get together and compete either against/with each other in a regime of whacky challenges. If a joker earned the most thumbs down in the challenges, they would have to do something embarrassing as punishment. It was quite an odd program.

But Tails didn't mind it because he wanted something that could clear his mind.

As he tried to forget the last scene in that clip, he looked at the television and saw that one of the jokers was trapped in a dark room, strapped to a table that sat in the middle. The only source of light that illuminated the darkness was a table lamp that was stuck to the ceiling. Tails raised an eyebrow. He knew that the joker was stuck in there because he got the most thumbs down in the challenge, but he wondered what his particular punishment was going to be. T-Pup panted and curled himself beside Tails' side. The fox wrapped his arm around his dog and rubbed his ears. The joker screamed and shouted inside the room, hoping that he would be free of this contraption. He tossed and turned, hollering in fear.

With his curiosity growing stronger, Tails eventually got the answer to his question.

A figure dressed in a black hoodie emerged from the right of the room; a box was in his hands. He approached the joker and slowly opened the box. To which the joker continued shouting.

Tails' frown suddenly morphed into a smile.

A huge, black, furry tarantula emerged from the box and slowly crawled on the joker's stomach. As soon as the spider approached the joker's face, the latter started screaming like a girl. He proceeded to toss and turn, shaking his hands and wiggling his knees. He opened his mouth and shouted; his eyes were close to popping out of his skull.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, another tarantula came out of the box.

Tails laughed at what he was watching. Memories of watching the crossover trailer started to wipe away from his mind… sort of. He was still thinking about it, but the imagery of two spiders crawling on someone's stomach distracted him from those thoughts. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, laughing at the poor joker's punishment.

Before he could see what else was going to happen, his Miles Electric rang.

Reaching beside him, Tails grabbed his communicator and answered it. Honey the Cat was on the other side. She was standing in a boxing ring located in Green Hill Zone. Behind her, a brown-furred Manx with a brown tube top and tight jeans was tossing blows against a punching bag.

"_Hey, Tails,"_ the orange cat happily greeted with a smile.

"Hey, Honey," Tails smiled, trying to contain his laughter. "How are you?"

"_I'm doing as Sonic would say, way past cool!"_ Honey winked. _"Just chilling at the boxing ring with this new student. I'm training her to be a fight and so far, she's doing pretty good-"_

The cat stopped talking because she noticed something wrong with the fox; his eyes were red and puffy. They were like that when he was crying from reading all of the comments earlier. Honey's lips dropped and she lowered her ears.

"_Hey… are you all right?"_

Tails knew what she noticed. He wiped his eyes and sniffed. "I'm all right, Honey. Why wouldn't I be?"

"_Tails, I can smell secrecy from a mile away. You're hiding something… what's going on?"_

"Nothing, I'm perfectly fine."

Honey sniffed the air and gave the fox a stern look. _"Tails… what's going on?"_

"N-nothing," Tails nervously chuckled. "What makes you think I'm hiding something?"

The cat just blankly stared.

"What?" Tails inquired, still chuckling. "What are you doing? Why're you giving me that face?"

Suddenly, Honey the Cat left the conversation.

"Hello? Honey?" Tails asked, as he watched his screen turn black. "Huh? Guess she fell for it."

"Think again," said Honey, as she suddenly appeared behind Tails' couch. The fox rapidly turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs. T-Pup was frightened by this and jumped off the couch, barking at the cat behind him. Tails fell off the sofa and landed on his back, knocking over his bowl of mint candy.

Honey jumped over the couch and looked down at the fox, offering him her hand.

Panting in fear, Tails grabbed the cat's hand as she pulled him back up.

"Thanks," Tails said, still breathing heavily. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Well, that's what you get for lying to me."

"What?"

"Tails, I know you're hiding something. Your eyes are pink and puffy, which means you were crying about something… tell me what's wrong. Cats are very good listeners."

Exhaling another breath, Tails closed his eyes and finally gave in. Rubbing his face, he began his explanation. "Have you heard of this cartoon called OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes?"

"Yes," Honey replied. "Never watched it, but yeah, I've heard of it. Why?"

"Charmy called me this morning and told me they're making a special episode starring Sonic and I. When you hear it, it sounds cool. But when you see it, it's not as cool."

"What do you mean?"

Tails grabbed his communicator and handed it to Honey. He loaded the video and showed her the clip.

"Here, just watch."

"All right," Honey replied, as she looked down at the screen.

She watched as Sonic kneeled down to K.O.'s level.

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_K.O.!"_

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

"WHOA, WHAT!?" Honey screamed at the highest pitch. "He did not just say that! Did he just say that!? There's _no way _he said that!?"

"I did some research online," Tails nodded. "That line's actually in the script."

"Why would they do _that!?_ That's not cool! Do they think Sonic's some kind of narcissistic jerk or something! Who wrote this dialogue? Probably some thirty-year-old men who make out of character Fanfictions!"

Tails snickered at that comment.

"But why are you so worked up over this?" the cat inquired, as she raised an eyebrow. "It's just a stupid cartoon."

"I know that," Tails replied with a low sigh. "But watching that clip has me thinking… what if Sonic should have a new little buddy?"

Honey gasped and punched the fox's arm. "Tails! How dare you say something like that!?"

"Ow!" Tails moaned, as he rubbed his arm. "What if it's true? What if Sonic does deserve someone better?"

"Now, you're just being dramatic!" Honey shook her head in disbelief. She wrapped her arm around the kitsune. "You and Sonic have been there for each other since day one. You helped him blow up the Death Egg, he helped you through the Death Egg Fighting Tournament, the two of you took on Perfect Chaos, fought Dr. Eggman when he used Chaos Control to split the world apart, everything! You two are like two peas in a pod, peanut butter and jelly, ketchup and mustard… stop me when you hear something you like."

Tails gave a soft smile at Honey's joke. But that didn't do much to change his demeanor.

Gently taking the cat's arm off his shoulder, Tails slowly walked over to his tool-infested desk and leaned against it. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Why do you feel this way?" Honey asked.

Tails hesitated to tell her for a second; although, he really wanted to say something. He wanted to tell his thoughts, but he didn't know how. He glanced down at his dog, who was sitting down and whimpering softly; he felt bad his owner was feeling this way.

Honey pressed her hands behind her back, waiting for an answer. She was about to walk towards the fox and give him a hug, but she stopped once he turned around.

"I may be Sonic's best friend… but I'm nothing like him."

Honey raised another eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Tails pressed his hands together and paced around his workshop. "When I first met Sonic, I was just a scared little kid who admired him for his bravery and heroism. So, when he tagged me along for this adventure, I knew I wanted to be just like him… but like I said, I was too scared. I didn't think I'd be able to defend myself like he can… it wasn't until I saved a couple of islands from these guys: The Battle Bird Armada and Wendy Witchcart and her Witchcarters. While I mostly had to improvise my tactics during those adventures, I slowly felt my confidence increasing. But what really inspired me to start fighting for myself was when I saved Station Square from Eggman's missile… since then, I've been helping Sonic take down many enemies and overcome any obstacles that stood in our way."

Honey smiled, as she sat down on the couch. T-Pup jumped on her lap and snuggled beside her chest.

The fox smiled after telling Honey about how he slowly started to become a hero, but he suddenly frowned when he told her the second half of his explanation.

"But lately…" he rubbed his shoulder and bowed his head in shame. "It feels like I've become too scared to do anything… instead of helping… I've done nothing but stand on the sidelines, cheering Sonic on like some kind of cheerleader… and… and… and…"

Honey watched as a tear dropped down Tails' cheek.

"It's embarrassing," Tails said. His voice shook as he spoke. "How did this happen? One moment, I'm Sonic's trusted sidekick and best friend… next thing you know… I'm just some useless pawn in his shadow…"

The cat frowned, as she slowly got up from her seat.

Approaching Tails, she slowly placed her hand on his shoulder.

Tails continued crying. Salty tears down poured down his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot from crying. He wiped them to keep Honey from seeing them; he didn't want her to see him cry as he felt it was humiliating for someone his age to do. But he and Honey both knew he was still a kid, meaning there was nothing wrong with the way he was acting.

Honey gently turned the fox around and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a warm hug.

Tails did the same thing to the cat. He closed his bloodshot eyes, as more tears dropped against the floor as hard as rocks. T-Pup jumped off the couch and sat down in front of the two Mobians, looking at his owner. He whimpered softly before he rubbed his head against his creator's leg. With one hand, Tails patted his dog on the head; his other hand was still wrapped around Honey's body.

"Why would Sonic wanna be friends with a dope like me?"

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog would rather be anywhere in the world than where he is now. He'd rather fight another one of Eggman's poorly crafted inventions and he would definitely prefer to be going on another midday run than spend his time here.

He felt the whole world collapse around him.

He felt the walls of his mind cave in.

He heard his mind screaming at him to get out of there was soon as possible.

Anywhere other than here would make him feel a millions times better, but he couldn't find a way to escape. He tried a million ways to get out of the situation he was in, but he found no such luck. Not even his clever wit could help him out this time. His palms began to shake, and his forehead began to sweat rapidly. Looking up at the ceiling light above him, he wondered how much time has passed since he arrived here. And he was curious about how much longer this was gonna last.

Sonic the Hedgehog… was helping Amy shop for clothes.

Inside of the Soleanna Shopping Center, Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, and Cheese were shopping for outfits to wear for a slumber party the pink hedgehog was having tonight. They invited Sonic and Cream's caretaker, Gemerl, to help them with this task. Gemerl didn't mind being here because he wanted to Cream out of the house for a while, but Sonic wanted to be someplace else.

He had spent a total of two hours inside the shopping center and that was way too long for him.

Now, hanging out with his friends didn't bother him at all. It was the fact that Amy was taking too long to choose an outfit. While Cream picked out her attire; an Easter-themed dress, Amy couldn't decide between two dresses that looked similar to the one she's currently wearing.

"Hmm?" Amy asked, as she stroked her chin. "I can't decide. Should I chose between this one or this one?"

"They both look nice, Ms. Amy," Cream replied with a smile. "Why not pick them both?"

"Took the words right outta my mouth," Sonic whispered to Gemerl.

"I can't, Cream," Amy shook her head. "As much as I would like to have both, I only have enough money to get one. But which one should I buy?"

"I really don't understand why you're having such a hard times, Ames," Sonic said, folding his arms. "They're both the same thing!"

"Clearly, you don't understand the dilemma I'm having, Sonic," Amy rolled her eyes with a snarl. She picked up both dresses and showed them to the Blue Blur and the Gizoid. "This one on the left is made of a soft silk that's maroon red and it's got stars on it while this other one is crafted with polyester with some printed flowers. And it's also colored dark red. Don't you see the differences? They're so obvious."

Sonic was confused.

"Gemerl, you see the differences, don't you?" Amy asked.

"Please, don't drag me into this again." Gemerl replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I just can't decide which one looks better on me. The one with the stars or the one with the flowers?"

"I change my mind, Ms. Rose," Cream said. "I think the one with the flowers would look cute on you. What do you think, Gemerl?"

Gemerl tilted his head to the side and scratched it. "Hmm… I guess so. I'm no expert on fashion, but the flowers suit her better. The star one looks a little wonky."

"Don't tell me you're buying into this nonsense, Gemerl." Sonic rolled his eyes.

"What? I'm just expressing my opinion." The Gizoid nodded.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter which one you pick, Ames" Sonic groaned. "Just pick one so we can get out of here."

Amy looked down at the flower dress, as she tossed the star one over her shoulder. She smiled and nodded.

* * *

After making her purchase, Amy and her friends left the shopping center and strolled down Soleanna's Castle Town. There, dozens of people were eating cuisines at the food court while the Soleanna Boys were playing a game of hide and seek. The Soleanna Guards were doing their daily patrol of the town, but they would stop for a bit to greet the locals. The group of friends waved to the guards, as they crossed over a bridge and walked to the main plaza.

"What should we do now?" Cream asked. "Should we head home to prepare for your slumber party, Ms. Rose?"

"Nope," Amy smiled, as she shook her head. "I think we should see a movie. I hear that new tiger queen movie is out in theaters."

"Isn't that a remake of the original?" Sonic inquired. "Why would anyone wanna see that? The original one is a classic! Just because you make this new version more realistic doesn't mean it'll be good."

"Eh, I have desire to see it," Amy nodded in agreement. "Studios should stop reusing the same, tired old properties and make something original for once."

The gang fell silent for a minute.

"I wouldn't mind watching a movie," Cream smiled. To which Cheese nodded.

"How about we watch an action flick!" Sonic smirked, as he mocked action hero poses with his fists. "I hear that Chao in Space 3: The Dreamcast finally came out."

"Heck yeah!" Gemerl nodded with glee. "Cream and I have been wanting to see that movie for years!"

"Can we see it?" Cream asked. "Can we please see it?"

"I don't see why not," Sonic replied with a smile. "Hey! You know who else wants to see that movie? Tails. He's been dying for a Chao in Space 3 ever since him and I saw the second one on opening night! I'm sure he'll wanna join us."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Amy smiled. "Go get him!"

"Will do!"

Sonic got down into a running position.

"Up, over, and gone!"

With a gust of wind blowing against Amy, Cream, and Gemerl, Sonic the Hedgehog took off like a light and ran across the ocean.

* * *

Spending the last few minutes venting to Honey benefited the two-tailed fox. For starters, his eyes were not a red as they were before, and he was no longer crying. Now, he was sitting on the couch with T-Pup next to him. Honey was in the kitchen, making her and Tails a drink to calm themselves down.

The fox reached over to the coffee table and took two tissues out of the box. Wiping his eyes, he sniffed one more time before he gave a sigh of relief, thankful he was able to get his feelings out of his system. Granted, he would have felt better about himself if he told all of this to Sonic but telling someone was good enough for him. Letting out another sigh, Tails leaned back on his soft, velvet pillow and rubbed his eyes. T-Pup jumped off the couch and began picking up the pieces of mint candy his owner dropped before. But as soon as he came across once piece, he sniffed it before he put it in his mouth.

However, his systems couldn't take the flavor, so he spit it out.

Tails chuckled at his dog, as Honey came back with two mugs of tea in her hands. But there was something odd about the tea that the fox noticed… it was blue.

Raising an eyebrow, Tails gently took the mug Honey handed to him and inspected the tea, wondering why the color was so strange.

"What is this?" he inquired.

"Blue tea," Honey replied. "My boxing student, Tiara, always makes it for me when I feel down."

Tails took a sip of the tea and smacked his lips together; he found it delicious. "This is pretty good… what makes it blue?"

"You don't wanna know."

Tails raised an eyebrow at that comment. How would he respond to that?

"How're you feeling?" Honey said, placing her mug on the coffee table.

"Well, I'm not crying anymore so that's a start," Tails replied with a slight chuckle. He took another sip of blue tea. "But I do feel a lot better than I did before. Thanks for listening to me, Honey. It was nice to get all of that off my chest; although, I could have gone without the crying."

"Hey, sometimes you just gotta let it out," Honey nodded, as she took another sip. "Have you spoke to Sonic about this at all?"

"Nope… I only found out about the crossover just this morning. I haven't had the chance to talk with him… honestly, this is gonna sound a little unlike me, but I don't know if I _should_ talk to him."

"Why is that?"

"Knowing Sonic, he's probably happy with the portrayal of his character. He was pretty impressed with his incarnation on that show, Chao Boom. Which got cancelled after two seasons."

"First off, it got cancelled before the video games were horrible. Second, if Sonic watched that trailer and saw that last clip, I'm sure he'd raise a million questions. Heck, he would probably storm into the cartoon studio and send the writers flying into next week."

Tails snickered. "Sounds like something he would do."

The cat slurped down one last drop of tea before she placed her mug on the table. She gently wrapped her fingers around the fox's hands. "Listen, Tails. I really think you should talk to Sonic about this. I think it can benefit the both of you… I wish I could stay and help you talk to him, but I gotta get back to work. My student's gotta continue her boxercise lesson."

The fox nodded, as Honey got up from her seat, hugged Tails one last time, and opened the front door.

"Let me know how everything goes, okay?" she said.

"I will."

"See ya later, Tails."

"Bye, Honey. Thanks for everything."

"Es no problemo."

The cat closed the workshop's door.

Tails rubbed his eyes one more time before he finally stood up. He paced around the couch and took another sip of blue tea. For the most part, he felt better about himself; however, he was anxious about how he was gonna tell Sonic what he was feeling. He drank more tea to calm his thoughts, but not even the sweet flavor could do the trick. He shook his head and scratched his back, internally debating his plan.

T-Pup approached him and sat down.

"What am I gonna do, T-Pup?" Tails asked the canine. "Why do I feel so nervous about talking to Sonic? He's my best friend, I should feel that I could talk to him about whatever. Why does this feel so different? Do I feel that he won't understand, or do I think he won't listen to me? I don't think it's both of those options because that's not like Sonic; it's not his character… is it? I don't know! Sometimes, he confuses me!"

The robotic dog stopped panting and raised an eyebrow.

Tails gently facepalmed himself, as he kneeled down to his dog's level. "Look at me, T-Pup, I'm going insane. I shouldn't be getting worked up over some stupid cartoon… but it's not just the cartoon that has me upset, it's what it symbolizes… I've been on a losing streak lately and watching that trailer made me feel like Sonic would be better off with a new best friend. One who can actually _do _stuff instead of sitting around, tinkering with machines."

"BARK, BARK," said T-Pup as if to say, "Tails, Sonic's your best friend. He'd never leave you."

"You got a point, buddy," Tails patted the canine's head. "Boy, what a day this has turned to."

A knock suddenly occurred at the door.

"It's open!" Tails called.

Opening the door was none other than Tails' best friend, Sonic. The blue hedgehog entered and closed the door behind him.

"Hey, little bro," Sonic smiled and winked.

Tails gasped. Sonic was here in the flesh after he had a whole discussion about him with Honey. What was he going to do about this?"

T-Pup barked happily and rushed towards the hedgehog, jumping into his arms and licking his face. Sonic laughed, as he placed the dog on the floor and rubbed his ears.

"Hey, T-Pup! Who's my favorite robot dog?" the hedgehog sat down and played with the dog. "Who's a good robo puppy? Yes, you are! Yes, you are! Who's a good robo puppy?"

Feeling like vomiting at the mouth, Tails kept his equanimity by taking a few deep breathes. The sight of Sonic playing with his dog did make him feel better… slightly.

Getting off his knees, Sonic approached his best bud and fist-bumped him. "How ya doin', Tails?"

Tails fist-bumped him back. "I'm… all right. How are you, Sonic?"

"I'm way past cool. Hey, listen… Amy, Cream, Gemerl, and I are gonna see Chao In Space 3, you wanna come with us?"

"Did it come out already. Finally! Fans have been demanding a third since that terrible, live-action remake, Chao in Space: The Next Generation."

"We don't talk about that movie, remember?"

"Right, sorry."

"No worries. You wanna come see it with us?"

Tails hesitated to answer at first because of how much he wanted to tell Sonic about his feelings. He really wanted to express his thoughts on that one scene from the crossover's trailer; however, Sonic was in a good mood as usual, he didn't want to bring him down by talking about something so dramatic. But then again, he's been wanting to see Chao in Space 3 for the longest time. So, he figured seeing a good movie would prepare him for his conversation with his brother.

"Did you even need to ask?" Tails chuckled with his reply. "Of course, I'm coming with you!"

"Sweet!" Sonic winked and jumped with excitement. "Let's do it to it! Last one to the movie theater's a rotten Eggman!"

With that, Sonic took off at the speed of sound.

"Hey!" Tails called. He twirled his twin tails and flew off the ground. Flying out the door, he tried to catch up to Sonic. "Wait for me!"

Both brothers ran down the Mystic Ruins.

* * *

Gemerl stood outside the movie theater, waiting for Sonic and Tails. Amy and Cream were inside getting everything all set up. He looked left and right in search for both brothers. At first, he was about to walk inside and tell the girls there's no sign of them, when he suddenly heard a whoosh come from the ocean in front of him.

Turning his three eyes to the water, he saw a large wave splash onto the surface, which soaked a few pedestrians and some guards. The wave was caused by the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog, who ran up to the theater's entrance with Tails by his side. They both stopped in front of the Gizoid.

"Looks like you're the rotten Eggman this time, Sonic," Tails joked.

"_Pfft! _No way! Did you see how fast I was going?" Sonic replied with a snicker. "I think _you're _the rotten Eggman around here, buddy!"

"There you guys are," Gemerl said. "What took you so long?"

"What took us so long?" Sonic asked. "Gemerl, did you forget who I am? I was nearly gone for five seconds."

"One minute and ten seconds, actually," Gemerl replied.

"Nobody likes a math whiz, G," Sonic rolled his eyes. To which Tails chuckled.

"Whatever. The girls are inside getting tickets and popcorn. If we hurry, we should make it on time for the movie."

"I hope we didn't miss the previews," Tails said. "They're annoying, yes, but sometimes you find some really good ones."

"What are we waiting for, boys?" Sonic cracked his fingers. "Let's do it to-"

"MR. SONIC! MR. SONIC! MR. SONIC!" a young male voice called from the left. Sonic, Tails, and Gemerl looked in that direction and saw two Mobians coming their way. One of them was a purple bird with yellow eyes, a blue vest, orange pants, and brown boots. The other one was a green cat with orange eyes, a yellow shirt, purple shorts, and skeleton-themed sneakers. They both looked to be around Sonic's age. They stopped in front of the heroes and started panting. "Excuse me, Mr. Sonic!"

"Hey, kiddos. Sorry, I'm not signing autographs nor am I taking selfies right now," Sonic smiled. "I'm gonna go see a movie. But maybe I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, we're not hear for an autograph," the cat said. "We're hear to ask you a question."

"What's up?" Sonic inquired, stroking his chin.

"Is it true you're replacing Tails with K.O.?"

Tails felt his heart jump at the end of that question. His eyes widened and his brain rattled.

Sonic raised both eyebrows and folded his arms, tapping his foot in confusion.

Gemerl just blankly stared.

"Um… what?" Sonic said.

"That crossover teaser clearly showed us you admire K.O. than you do Tails. Is it true you're thinking of having K.O. as your new little buddy?" the bird inquired.

Tails clenched his chest. Now, he had the urge to throw up.

"I'm sorry, who the heck is K.O.?" Sonic asked.

"You know, from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes!"

"OK Who? Let's be what now?"

As if Tails' stomach couldn't feel any worse, he heard another sound coming from behind him. He turned around and saw another group of kids running towards him and the group. They were the Soleanna Boys and one of them was dressed like K.O. Tails cupped his hands over his mouth and grabbed a garbage can, hoping to puke his problems away. But no matter how much he tried; nothing came out of his mouth.

"Hi-ya!" the kid dressed like K.O. shouted, spoking the heck out of Sonic and Gemerl. "I'm K.O.! The best superhero in the world! Come with me, Sonic! We must fight the forces of evil! You know, because we're best buds!"

"Is this some kind of internet meme I don't know about?" Sonic inquired.

"All right, guys," Gemerl stood in front of Sonic. "Back off. The Hero of Mobius would like some peace. What the heck is this K.O. show you all talk about?"

"You didn't see the trailer, Mr. Sonic?" the bird asked, as he wiped out his laptop. "Here, let me show you!"

Tails popped his head out of the trash can and shouted, "Wait! Don't show him the trailer!"

The two Mobians, the Soleanna Boys, Sonic, and Gemerl all looked at Tails.

"Why?" one of the boys asked with a sneer. "Jealous that K.O. is a better hero than you?"

Sonic and Gemerl shared a shocking glance when they heard that remark.

"Hey!" the former snarled at the civilian. "What gives you the right to talk to my friend like that?"

"Friend?" the green cat raised a brow. "You're kidding, right? Tails hasn't helped you in the slightest. Have you seen what he's done during the Phantom Ruby War? All he did was cheer for you, some other Sonic, and an inexperienced Rookie. He didn't contribute to the War at all."

"Yes, he did!" Sonic snarled again. "He's the one who found out information about the Phantom Ruby!"

"But did he fight anybody?" the green cat folded her arms.

Sonic fell silent.

"Of course he did!" he spoke after a moment of silence.

"That's not what resources and videos online say."

"You should totally pick a new friend like K.O.," one of the Soleanna boys suggested. "K.O. has superpowers and can actually do stuff. He doesn't sit on the sidelines; all he does is fight."

"Yeah," the purple bird nodded in agreement. "Why would you wanna be friends with a dope like Tails?"

It was at that moment where Tails felt a spear go through his heart. He felt his brain explode and his composure collapsed. He couldn't believe someone said what he thought this morning. _Why would you wanna be friends with a dope like Tails? Why would Sonic wanna be friends with a dope like me? _The two-tailed fox repeated both quotes through his head, playing them back as if he was mind was a record player and his thoughts were a record. He couldn't believe this was happening. He didn't know what to do.

Everyone else looked at Tails, doing nothing but glaring at him and suggesting to Sonic that he'd replace him. Just like all those comments from the internet.

Sonic and Gemerl exchanged another glance before the blue hedgehog got in front of the group. He growled at everybody and pointed at them.

"That was low," he grunted with aggravation. "That was low! How _dare _you say that to my best friend?"

Tails backed up slowly.

Sonic noticed this.

"Tails… are you okay?"

Backing up more, Tails huffed and puffed as he tried to keep himself calm. He attempted to remember what Honey told him this morning, but his mind was blank. The only things that clouded his mind were all the negative comments from ChaoTube and the ones he was getting now.

His eyes were turning red, as tears flowed down his cheeks.

Sonic slowly approached the fox, but he was too late. Twirling his tails around, the kitsune flew upward and away from the area. Sonic rushed towards him, but he stopped as soon as Tails flew so high enough, he went over a building and disappeared from sight. Gemerl tried to look for him as well, but under Sonic's orders, he was told to stop.

Both heroes were flabbergasted. How could these kids say something like that to Tails?

Gemerl found this hard to believe, as he knew Tails had been fighting alongside Sonic for the longest time.

Sonic, on the other hand, turned around and gave death stares to every civilian that insulted his friend. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, praying that karma bites every single one of these kids.

"Get… out."

"I'm sorry?" the green cat asked.

"_**I SAID GET OUT!" **_

With that shout coming from the top of the hero's lungs, the Soleanna Boys and the two Mobians huddled away like rats from a sinking ship. They were gone in an instant, leaving Sonic to pant in an angry fashion. He felt like picking something up and throwing it at the kids for saying those harsh things about Tails. How could they compare a real-life Freedom Fighter to a fictional character?

Gemerl was confused about this too, as he approached Sonic. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

Gently taking the Gizoid's hand off his shoulder, Sonic turned around and tried to take a deep breath, but the angry thoughts in his mind distracted him.

"Why would they say those things to my little buddy?"

"I don't know," Gemerl replied. "But what makes me concerned is… why did they think you were replacing him with this K.O. character?"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever this cartoon is has got my little buddy worked up… and I'm determined to find out why… sorry, G. But I gotta bail. Tell Amy and the others I'll see the movie some other time!"

With that, Sonic ran down the streets in hopes of catching up to Tails.

_Whatever's going on with you, little buddy… I promise to help you through it._

_**END OF CHAPTER 2**_

* * *

_Welp, things escalated quickly. Just when Tails thought he could clear his thoughts by watching a movie, some jerk head kids come around and decide to cause trouble. Not only for him, but for Sonic as well. Our little kitsune has chosen to run away from his problems, leaving our blue hero wondering just what the heck is going on. Who knows how long it will take Sonic to find out the truth about Tails' feelings? Well, I guess we're gonna have to wait until the next chapter is released. Tune in next time, as Tails gets a little help from more characters in..._

_"Chapter 3: With The Help of Others."_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_Honey the Cat makes her debut in this chapter. She was a character who was supposed to be playable in the original "Sonic the Fighters." but she never made it in the original game. Thankfully, she did make it in the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game. There is another character cameo in here and that's in the form of Tiara Boobowski or Tiara the Manx. She was a rejected character who was supposed to make her debut in a cancelled Sonic Project called "Sonic X-Treme." She was supposed to be the Lola Bunny to Sonic's Bugs Bunny if that make sense to anybody. Basically, she would have been a female version of Sonic. She does make an appearance as a playable character in a fangame called Sonic World._

_For those who have checked out my other Sonic story, Awakened, you would all know I'm a huge fan of Gemerl. I was happy with his debut in the IDW Comic Book Series; however, I would have liked if he had his personality from the Archie Comic Books. Maybe he'll get a personality later on, but for now, I was happy to see him make a comeback._

_God knows we all want a Chao In Space 3. Please, SEGA, make it happen. ;)_

_As if it wasn't obvious, Chao Boom is a reference to Sonic Boom. I like the Sonic Boom show for the most part, but the video games suck. Although, I hear Fire and Ice isn't that bad._

_That is all I will say for now, web-heads. Don't forget to R&R. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	3. With the Help of Others

_**A/N: **With school back in season, I may not update a lot of my Fanfiction account since I plan to focus on my school work as well as my original series on FictionPress, "The Sensational Night Shadow." I'm starting to grow into a habit of preferring to write original work over Fanfiction. Fanfiction has been great to mess around with and get experience, but I really feel the urge to start progressing my original work. Now, with that being said, I do plan to finish my projects on this website. I just won't update them a lot. So, if you're waiting for some stories to update, I apologize, as they will take a while. _

_Now that that's over, special thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story since Chapter 2._

_Without futher ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

"_I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody." __  
__**Abraham Lincoln**_

* * *

**With the Help of Others**

So far, the day has gone from bad to good to even worse.

Miles "Tails" Prower had hoped that spending some time at the movies with Sonic cheer him up after watching the trailer for the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover special but going there only made things worse. Instead of making it to the movie, he wound up getting bullied by people who thought a cartoon character would make a better sidekick for Mobius' hero. How could they say such horrible things like that? Did they know Tails would feel horrible hearing those insults? What were they thinking?

Sonic obviously gave them a piece of his mind, but that wasn't enough to appease the fox.

Tails was still hurt by those words those kids said and he was hurt by the comments he read online earlier. He couldn't take it anymore, so his best instinct was to do the last thing he'd want to do…

Run away like a coward.

Now, he sat alone in the Chao Garden; a beautiful area where Chao resided. A slight breeze drifted through the air and caused the tears flowing down the fox's face to fly off his cheeks. The grass was soft beneath the kitsune's rear, but he could care less about how the grass felt.

He sat there alone, crying. Wondering why he couldn't stand up for himself like he did long ago.

Wiping his eyes, he sniffed and curled his arms around his knees, gently sobbing.

Around him, Chao of many varieties were playing in the fields. They would occasionally look over at the crying fox and wonder what's wrong. Once in a while, they'd walk up to him in an attempt to ask him what the problem was, but they figured it'd be no use since they couldn't speak proper English. So, they would just mind their own business.

Tails looked up and watched the Chao, hoping it'd take his mind off what happened, but despite being surrounded by wonderous, adorable, and extraordinary creatures, his mind was only focused on one question… _Would Sonic be better off without me?_

Burying his face into his palms, Tails continued contemplating his thoughts and letting out his emotions. He really wanted to go back and tell Sonic what the problem was, but he couldn't work up the courage to do it. It annoyed him because he knew he was brave once before… but all of that bravery somehow went away.

As he tried to find out why he'd been feeling useless for a long time, he heard soft footsteps from behind.

A dark voice suddenly spoke. "What are you doing out here?"

Tails knew that voice well. He leaned up and looked over his shoulder.

Standing behind him was the Ultimate Life Form himself, Shadow the Hedgehog.

"S-Shadow?" the fox sniffed, as he wiped his nose. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first." Shadow replied.

Tails turned around and folded his arms. "What's the point? You probably wouldn't care."

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't have asked," Shadow replied. "You won't know if I care unless you tell me."

Tails raised an eyebrow after hearing that. He never heard Shadow say something like that before. Letting out a low sigh, he explained his situation. "For the longest time… I haven't been feeling like myself… what I mean is, Sonic and I have gone on multiple adventures together, but when the Shattered World Crisis happened, Sonic kind of went off on his own. Granted, he had Chip with him, so he wasn't completely by himself, but ever since then… he's been flying solo. Every time he fights Eggman, he does it by himself and just lets me watch or he saves me and gets me away from the fight, not even letting me fight Eggman at all… it's been happening so much, that… I feel like a different person."

Shadow listened closely and folded his arms. He sat down beside the fox. "So, you and I are having the same problem? Didn't think we'd have that in common."

Tails' eyes widened, as he quickly turned to the black hedgehog. "S-same problem?"

Shadow nodded. "Since the Black Arms Invasion happened, people have thought of me as some brooding edge lord who tries to outwit Sonic in everything he does… an example comes from one of these."

Reaching behind him, Shadow whipped out a comic book that featured him, the rest of Team Dark, and Sonic fighting against a bunch of roboticized Mobians that acted like zombies. He flipped through the pages, as Tails looked over his shoulder, admiring the artwork.

"You've seen these, I assume?" Shadow inquired.

"Yeah," Tails replied. "First off, I never knew you read comic books. Second, I have some of these. Some comic book company made these to celebrate the aftermath of the Phantom Ruby War."

"That's pretty much the story of these comics," Shadow added. "They're supposed to be what happened after the War. Granted, none of these comics are 100% accurate, but they're still a good read. Issue #20 came out not too long ago and when I read it… let's just say I wasn't happy with the portrayal of my character."

Shadow found the page he was looking for and showed it to the fox. On the page, there were drawings of Sonic covered in a metallic goo, telling Shadow that he needed to get civilians away from roboticized Mobians called Zombots. But there were drawings of Shadow refusing to do that, as he walked up to the Zombots and started attacking them, getting infected in the process.

Tails gently took the comic and read it to himself, appalled by how out of character this page alone makes Shadow. He flipped to the next page and saw more images of Shadow fighting Zombots.

"While the artwork is impressive, this comic totally makes you out of character," Tails said. "I mean, you can be a bit stubborn sometimes, but you're would never leave pedestrians behind."

"That's what I said," Shadow nodded, folding his arms. Tails returned the book to him. "It's amazing that people are able to abuse their Freedom of Speech like this. In other words, people use the internet, comic books, TV shows, and other sources of media to insult or misinterpret things other people, especially us Freedom Fighters. They dumb us down just to make us appeal to a younger audience."

Shadow lowered his head in shame, as Tails thought about what he said. He was right, people do misuse their freedom to say whatever they want to offend people. What could drive people to ruin others' days? Tails thought about this, but even he couldn't think of an answer to that.

"Wow, Shadow… I didn't think bullying meant a lot to you," Tails said.

"Maria was bullied on the Ark because of her illness; kids would walk up to the hospital doors and stick their tongues at her or call her names. I would do everything in my power to shoo them off, but Maria always told me not to bother with them… When she said that, I would ask why, and she said something that I promised myself to remember for the rest of my life… _Some people may look at you and say you're not good enough, but some day… you'll prove them wrong._"

The kitsune smiled hearing that last quote. He felt bad for underestimating Shadow's emotions like that. Nodding his head, he pressed his hands against the soft grassand glanced towards the black hedgehog.

"Thanks, Shadow," Tails smiled. "I… I really needed that."

"You're welcome," Shadow replied. "I know you'll realize that you're more than just Sonic's sidekick, you're his best friend: a fellow Freedom Fighter who's just as strong as he is… I know you're in a bit of a funk right now, but you'll get out of it. It won't happen immediately, but it will… you just need to be patient."

Tails smiled again. "And I can say the same to you."

Shadow looked at the fox, surprised he would say that, and gently smiled. He shook the fox's hand, as the two of them leaned back against the grass. They both looked up at the many clouds in the sky; a bright yellow sun shined down upon them. The tender breeze continued to brush against their fur.

* * *

As Tails continued to bond with Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog resumed his hunt for his best friend. He tried to catch up to him a while ago in Soleanna, but he somehow lost him. He figured that Tails flew over the rooftops and hid from plain sight, but Sonic scoped the entire city twice, but he hasn't found any trace of him.

During his search, he wondered what those kids were talking about when they insulted Tails. They kept claiming that some kid from a cartoon would make a better sidekick for Sonic than the one he already has. What were they talking about?

Sonic would have taken the time to look this up on the internet; however, finding and comforting Tails was the only thing on his mind. He spent a few hours of the morning looking for him, but he didn't find anything.

He checked all of Tails' favorite spots like Emerald Hill, Casino Forest, his lab in Emerald Town, and Seaside Hill. All of those places had no sign of the two-tailed fox.

So, the only place Sonic would think Tails would go to… was his workshop in the Mystic Ruins. While it may seem like the most obvious place to go, he still wanted to see if he was there. He ran across the Mystic Ruins and approached the workshop.

He knocked on the door. "Tails? You in there, buddy?... Tails?"

No answer.

Rubbing his head, he knocked a second time. "Tails, it's me, Sonic!... Are you home?... I wanna talk to you about what happened earlier… Tails, are…" the hedgehog let out a low sigh. "…you home?"

Still no answer.

The third time he knocked, he accidentally caused the door to open; the creaking sound it made was so loud, the Flickies that roamed the area jumped. Sonic opened the wooden door and slowly entered the shop, seeing nothing but tools, machine parts, and other supplies scattered across multiple desks and tables. The Tornado was sitting all the way in the back, parked on a wooden deck painted like a roadway. A single lightbulb kept the room lit.

Sonic stepped inside and closed the door behind him, wandering around for any sight of Tails.

"Buddy?" he asked. "You in here?"

Approaching a soft bed, he flipped open the covers to see if Tails cried himself to sleep, but no one was there. Only pillows and a quilt were under the blankets. He put them down and continued searching.

"Tails?" he called again.

No answer was heard from the interior.

Sonic the Hedgehog was all alone.

Just as he was about to call out again, he looked to the side and saw something on top of a desk: a picture frame that fell on its side. He picked up the frame and saw that it was a picture of him and Knuckles holding Tails up by his legs. In the fox's hands was a golden trophy that said, _"1__st__ Place Winner" _in bold. In the background of the picture, Team Rose: Amy, Big, and Omochao were congratulating the winners. Team Vector: Vector, Silver, and Blaze did the same thing and Team Dark just wanted to take the picture so they could go home.

Sonic smiled at the sight of this picture. He remembered posing for this when he and his friends competed in Dodon Pa's World Grand Prix. One of the only times where he and Tails got to showcase their teamwork.

He sighed and placed the picture down on the desk, wondering where Tails could be.

"Where are you, little buddy?" he whispered.

Just then, the door opened up, which startled the hedgehog.

Entering the room was none other than Knuckles the Echidna: Guardian of the Master Emerald himself. He walked inside; unaware Tails wasn't home. "Hey, Tails. Do you have any batteries?... Oh, what are you doing here, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Looking for Tails… something happened a while back and I want to talk to him about it."

"Is he okay?" Knuckles said, concerned. "Eggman didn't hurt him, did he?"

"No, it's not Egghead this time," Sonic replied. He sat down on the couch beside him and sighed again. "Tails and I were going to see Chao in Space 3, when he was suddenly bombarded by these kids who kept insulting him. Calling him useless and telling him he doesn't deserve to be my sidekick."

"Dear Chaos…" Knuckles snarled, slapping his fists together. "How could they say those things?"

"It gets worse."

Wanting to know more, Knuckles sat down next to his friend.

Sonic leaned back on the cushion and replied with, "They said I'd be better off fighting alongside some cartoon character than Tails."

Knuckles looked confused when he heard the words _cartoon _and _character_. He scratched his head and stroked his chin. "A cartoon character making a better sidekick than Tails?" he replied in a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm serious, Knux. That's what they said… and the saddest part is that I don't know what they're talking about. They said something about me having a crossover with some TV series… you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Nope, sorry. I don't have cable on Angel Island… although, I somewhat recall Charmy talking about the same thing you told me. Something about you and Tails in an episode of… of… gosh, what was the show called?... KO OK?... Nah, that's not it… OC KO?... Nope, that doesn't sound right either."

Sonic rolled his eyes, as Knuckles tried to remember what the show was called.

"Anyways, why are sitting here when you should be looking for Tails?" the red echidna inquired.

"I _am _looking for him," the blue hedgehog replied. "I just… don't know where he is."

"Did you call him?"

"Three times, he wouldn't answer."

"Did you go to this house in Emerald Town?"

"Yep. He wasn't there. And before you ask, I checked all of his favorite spots. No sign of him anywhere. I'm starting to get worried Eggman kidnapped him as he was running away from those kids. If that happened, then you and I are marching over to Egghead's base and teaching him a lesson!"

"As much as I would love to do that, I don't think we should jump the shark like that. We don't know for sure if it was Eggman. Also, we haven't seen that guy ever since we raced in Dodon Pa's World Grand Prix, so I'm pretty sure Tails is fine."

"Then, where do you think he is?"

"He probably went to see someone. If you want, we can go around town and ask our friends if they've seen him."

"That would be nice, Knux. But wait, don't you have a giant rock to take care of?"

"First off, it's not a rock, it's the Master Emerald. Second, Tikal and Chaos are guarding it as we speak. So, I can help you out for a bit and then head back."

"Sounds good!" Sonic winked and gave the echidna a thumbs up. "Come on, Knux! Last one to find Tails is a rotten Eggman!"

With that said, the fastest thing alive bolted out the door at the speed of light. The echidna clapped his fist together and ran after him.

* * *

Later that day, Tails and Shadow were strolling through Seaside Hill. The former told the latter about why he ran away from Soleanna and how he wound up in Chao Garden. He also mentioned the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover trailer that made him upset. As he finished explaining, Shadow stroked his chin and folded his arms.

"So, that's why you were so upset," Shadow said. "You're in this funk because of some stupid trailer?"

"The way that trailer portrayed Sonic made me think he feels like that in real life. He really thinks of me as a useless nobody who just tinkers with tools and translates alien languages," Tails replied. "I know I sound a little overdramatic, but that's how I think he feels."

"Out of curiosity, does he know about the trailer?"

"I don't think so. Normally, when Sonic sees himself in external media, he walks up to me and goes _'Holy Chili Cheese Dogs, Tails! I'm on TV, or in a movie, or in a video game, or competing in the Olympics with that plumber guy, etc.' _But he didn't say anything to me about the teaser. I initially thought he was planning to surprise me with the news when it came on TV, but I didn't think that was a possibility. It seemed highly doubtful."

Shadow stroked his chin again and looked down at the crystal-clear water underneath his feet. "Now, you told me you tried talking to him about this, but you decided to save it for after the movie, am I right?"

"Yep."

"So, this solution seems pretty self-explanatory. Just walk up to him and tell him the problem."

"Are you crazy!? I can't do that!"

"Why not? He's your best friend, isn't he?"

"Well, I thought he was my best friend, but I'm scared that if I tell him about my problem, it may come across as whiny and pathetic like how I acted on the Lost Hex, when he agreed to work with Eggman."

"To me, it doesn't sound like you're coming across as whiny and pathetic," Shadow said, keeping his tone low. "I know Sonic, and while his cocky attitude may annoy me sometimes, I've seen the two of you interact and I can easily tell he deeply cares about you. If you keep this problem to yourself, it's just going to make you feel worse."

Tails nodded in agreement and folded his arms. "I know that, but I'm not sure how to tell him about throwing up. What if he thinks I _am _whiny? What if he goes, _"Shut up, Tails, I'm the star of the show, you're just a sidekick?' _"

"Now, you're just overreacting. It's simple, just meet with Sonic and talk to him. But if I were you, I'd do this when it's just the two of you. It would make the conversation more meaningful."

Tails nodded again and took a deep breath.

"You all right?" Shadow inquired.

"Yeah… I'm fine," the fox rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks again for your help, Shadow. I owe you one."

Shadow shook his head. "You can owe me by talking to Sonic. Let me know how it all goes in the end. Now if you excuse me, I must be going. Rouge, Omega, and I have to fill out paperwork."

"Uh, oh… what's going on? Trouble at G.U.N. again?"

"No, the Hooligans committed a crime, so we have to fill out paperwork."

"What did they do?"

"They were assaulting someone's fanfiction because it had the plot of a debunked fan theory."

"Well, that's just plain rude."

"Yes, it is. See you later, Tails."

"Goodbye, Shadow."

With that, Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport away from the area. Tails looked into the starry night sky one last time before he jumped into the air. Twirling his twin tails together, he took to the skies, planning to return to his workshop.

He figured he would get some sleep before he talked to Sonic tomorrow morning.

* * *

Speaking of Sonic, he and Knuckles spent the entire day asking people around different towns and cities if they've seen signs of the two-tailed fox, but all they got were negative responses; everyone just said no. But because of those responses, Sonic and Knuckles were more determined to find him.

But after spending multiple hours of searching… they still found nothing.

Turning to their last resorts, they asked their friends if they've seen any trace of Tails.

They asked Silver and he replied with no.

They asked Mighty and Ray, but all they did was shake their heads.

They asked every member of Team Rose and each of them said they haven't seen him all day. Except Big, who said something about how much he misses Froggy.

Not even their closest friends knew where the fox was, which made Sonic worried at first, but he had no intentions on giving up so easily. So, his last hope was to turn to the people he hasn't spoken to yet…

Team Chaotix.

Sonic and Knuckles approached the doorstep of their office and knocked on the door, hoping that they would get some good news. It didn't take long for the Chaotix Ninja: Espio the Chameleon to answer the door. A cup of tea sat on his right hand.

"Sonic, Knuckles, nice to see you two," Espio greeted politely. "What brings you two here tonight?"

"Hey, Espio," Knuckles waved. "Tails had a bit of a problem this morning and he ran away. We were wondering if you saw him anywhere."

"Ran away?" Espio raised an eyebrow. "What happened?... Here, come inside."

Doing as told, both the hedgehog and the echidna entered the office. Vector was sitting by his desk, reading a comic book while Charmy was running around the room. He was dressed as K.O. and was playing with action figures that looked like Sonic and Tails.

Vector looked up from his comic and smiled. "Sonic, Knux, good to see you guys. What can I do for ya? Need anyone found?"

"Nah, we're not here for that, Vector," Knuckles said. He sat down with Sonic, as Espio handed both of them each a cup of tea. "We were wondering if you and the team saw Tails today. He had a bit of an incident this morning."

"Uh, oh, what happened?" Vector inquired.

Sonic sipped his tea and explained. "I invited Tails to see Chao in Space 3 this morning, so we head over to the movie theater in Soleanna to meet up with Amy, Cream, and Gemerl. Next thing you know, these rotten kids show up and start insulting him, saying that some cartoon character would make a better sidekick than him."

"Cartoon character?" Vector said, as he exchanged a glance with Espio. "It's not the duck that calls people despicable, is it?"

"Nope, not him."

"What about the yellow bird that always outsmarts the black cat?"

"Nope, not him either. They said it was some character named… OK? No, I don't that was his name… OOK?... Nope, wasn't that either. It was-"

Sonic's sentence was cut off because Charmy was reenacting the OK K.O. and Sonic trailer with his action figures.

"What's your name, kid?" Charmy said, mocking Sonic's voice.

"K.O.!" the bee said again, adjusting his costume and saluting his figure.

"Well, K.O.," Charmy said in Sonic's voice again. "How would you like to be my new little buddy?"

Sonic, Knuckles, Vector, and Espio gasped once they heard that last line. They turned around at the same time and stared at the bee. Charmy was about to say Tails' line from the trailer, when he suddenly looked over and noticed that all eyes were on him.

"What?" he asked.

"K.O.!" Sonic shouted. "That was the character's name!"

"Charmy, did you make that dialogue up yourself?" Knuckles inquired.

"No, it's in the trailer," Charmy replied.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "What trailer?"

"You don't know? There's a trailer for the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover special. Tails watched it this morning and was enjoying it… although, he did get slightly upset when he saw the scene where you accept K.O. as your new little buddy."

Sonic looked at Vector, Espio, and Knuckles when he heard that. He became curious as to what scene he was talking about. "Show me the trailer."

_**END OF CHAPTER 3**_

* * *

_Uh, oh. Looks like Sonic finally discovered the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover trailer. Wonder how he'll react to it. Will he be upset as Tails or will he realize there's something different? Now, as of this chapter, I have seen the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover special. I won't say what I thought of it now. I am planning on saving that for the final chapter, which should be coming in the next two or three chapters. Yep, this story's coming to a close already. Until then, stay tuned for..._

_"Chapter 4: The Talk"_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_There's a joke in here relating to a problem my good friend, TGN, has been having. There is a Guest out there attacking Sonic Forces rewrites, including his own, and calling out the writers for "defaming Sonic" And that same guy has been harassing me for Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb. To all of those who have been bullied by Guests and or users who just bad mouth the story and not give you a constructive review, DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! Much like what Shadow told Tails in this story, some people are gonna think you're not good enough, and it's up to you to prove them wrong. You know you're a talented writer at heart and you shouldn't let a bad reviewer's words ruin your day. Believe me, I've had my share of bullying back then._

_So, there was this trend on Twitter that focuses on how Shadow is not like his old self. People say that the way Shadow was writtten in IDW Sonic Issue #20 was the worst characterization they've ever seen of the character. Now, I read online that Ian Flynn originally wanted Shadow to take off his Inhibitor Rings in the issue and blow the Zombots back. But because of SEGA mandates and the way they want Shadow to be written, Ian had no other choice but to make Shadow show off his Vegeta side. I wanted to slightly reference that whole thing in this story by having Shadow tell Tails that he doesn't feel like himself._

_And that's pretty much it for this chapter, everyone. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and I hoped I inspired some of you with my bullying speech. Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, and leave me your thoughts. But no flames! I draw the line at those! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	4. The Talk

_**A/N:** Hello, everyone! First off, I'd like to apologize for the delay of this story! I've been dealing with a lot in college as of late, so my updates on here are very slow. But thankfully, seeing the Sonic movie helped me clear my mind. My non spoiler review: the movie was awesome! It has some stupid moments in it, but I loved it overall. Ben Schwartz gave an amazing performance of Sonic, Sonic and Tom had a nice bond, and Jim Carrey was a blast as Robotnik. I loved this movie and I will definietly be seeing it again. With that being said, I figured I'd do a small celebration of the movie by finally getting to finish this story._

_Yep, that's right, everyone. We're at the end of the story. Gotta say, I expected this to be longer, but I didn't want to drag this out any further. Even though the OK K.O. and Sonic episode has been out for a while, I never spoke about it with anyone except my good friend, SharpDragonKlaw. So with that being said, let's get on with the finale. My review for the episode will be at the final author's note._

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

"_A young outcast will often feel that there is something wrong with himself, but as he gets older, grows more confident in who he is, he will adapt, he will begin to feel that there is something wrong with everyone else."_  
~_**Criss Jami, **__**Killosophy**_

* * *

**The Talk**

After a few minutes of hooking Charmy's Miles Electric to the television screen, Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix sat on their sofas and watched the _OK K.O. and Sonic _Crossover trailer. Vector grabbed some popcorn from the side and munched on a few pieces.

"Where'd you get that?" Espio asked.

"Sometimes I keep popcorn in a secret compartment. You know, just in case we watch movies and stuff," Vector replied.

"Hey, guys. Can you keep it down a little?" Sonic asked. "The trailer's starting."

The gang watched as the trailer got started.

"_All right, Rad and Enid!" _KO said, mocking some of Sonic's famous poses. _"Are you ready for another action-packed day of protecting our hero plaza from evil robots?"_

"Huh, looks like this kid's a real copycat, eh, Sonic," Knuckles quipped.

"Ha, yeah. But I've done it better," the hedgehog replied.

The two turned back to the video and watched as something suddenly blasted through the door, knocking two cat-like creatures into the air. The projectile was a large, blue ball that moved faster than the speed of light. They obviously knew who it was.

It was Sonic the Hedgehog and he looked a lot more animated than usual. He landed on the ground and struck a battle pose. Orange, bold text read _**Sonic the Hedgehog: Fastest Thing Alive.**_

"Who's that handsome devil?" Sonic chuckled.

But that wasn't all. Following behind Sonic was none other than a cartoony version of himself. The fox gasped as soon as he saw himself fly around and land next to Sonic. He watched as his info text appeared right in front of him. _**Miles "Tails" Prower: Genius Fox Sidekick.**_

K.O. suddenly turned around let out a huge gasp at the two heroes.

Charmy had the same reaction.

"Why does the animation look so cheap?" Vector said, munching on popcorn. "Was the budget for this show ten Mobiums?"

"You leave this show alone! This is a masterpiece!" Charmy retorted.

"You know, when I was your age, cartoons had better animation than this trash! I was obsessed with this one show about vehicles that transformed into robots. It was awesome! The movie was… a little depressing."

The two cat creatures cartoon Sonic carelessly bumped into suddenly landed on him and Tails' heads. Sonic grabbed onto the cats and gently placed them down.

"_Whoa, you be careful now, kid," _he smiled. _"Don't want anyone getting hurt on my watch._"

The two cats geeked out over Sonic's appearance, as K.O. approached the heroes.

"_Can it be!? Are you THE legendary Sonic the Hedgehog with a power level of ring!?" _K.O. whipped out a trading card with an image of Sonic in the middle. His name was on the bottom and a gold ring was printed beside it.

_"The one and only, yep," _Sonic replied with a smirk and a wink.

K.O. began jumping around Sonic and Tails like an acrobat. _"Wow, wow, wow, wow! Oh, it's Tails! Wow, wow, wow, WOW! I can't believe I'm talking to THE Sonic. I have a whole notebook of fanart I've made of you!"_

"Oh, no," Sonic covered his face. "I know where _this _is going."

K.O. flipped through his notebook, showcasing highlights from Sonic's adventures. They were all poorly drawn in crayon. _"This one's from when you destroyed the Death Egg, this one's from when you fought the Ultimate Life Form, and this is when you won the summer and winter sports games."_

"_Gold medal, baby," _Sonic said, as he held up a gold medal from his neck.

Everyone laughed at the Olympics joke.

"_I really respect a kid with encyclopedic knowledge of my achievements," _Sonic smiled and said to K.O. _"Not enough people like that in this world."_

Finally, the animated counterpart of Tails spoke, and he was mad. _"Hello!? What about me!?"_

"Ha-ha!" Sonic laughed, but as he registered that line into his head, he thought about something. "Wait a minute."

He watched as his animated counterpart kneeled down to K.O.'s level.

"_What's your name, kid?" _he asked.

"_K.O.!"_

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

Vector spat a chunk of popcorn on the television. Knuckles and Espio's jaws dropped.

"What did he say!?" Vector bellowed.

"Hold on, hold on, we need to rewind that," Espio grabbed the remote, pressing the rewind button. "There's no way he said what I think he said."

He went back to a few spaces in the scene before he pressed play.

"_What's your name, kid?"_

"_K.O.!"_

"_Well, K.O., how would you like to be my new little buddy?"_

"Sonic's replacing Tails with a cartoon fanboy?" Vector inquired, turning to the Blue Blur. "What's wrong with you?"

"Hey, it's not the real Sonic that's doing that," Knuckles replied. "It's cartoon Sonic. This must've been what made Tails so upset."

"From the context of that scene, it _did _sound like Sonic wanted to replace Tails with this ninja-like character," Espio nodded. "But… why would this make Tails upset? Obviously, he knows this is fiction. Sonic would never abandon Tails in real life. Right, Sonic?"

Everyone turned to the blue hedgehog.

The brave hero himself stood on the couch with a neutral expression on his face. His hand was on his chin and he was deep into his thoughts. He remembered what happened at the Soleanna movie theater and how those kids made fun of Tails for being useless. Sonic scratched his head and recollected memories from his recent adventures.

Within a matter of seconds, he finally realized what was going on.

He rose his head up and nodded.

"I have to go," he spoke, as he gently stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked.

"I need to talk to Tails about this," Sonic replied. "I think I know why he's upset."

* * *

Later that night, Miles "Tails" Prower sat on the edge of a platform in Green Hill, looking down at all of the animals that prepared for sleep and the flowers that brushed against the wind. The moon was full, and the stars were bright, illuminating the darkness of the night. The eight-year-old kitsune took a deep breath and leaned back, resting on his twin tails. He replayed what Shadow told him to do back at the Chao Garden and how happy he felt talking to someone like Shadow. Even though the Ultimate Life Form showed off his brute side during adventures, Tails was glad to know that even Shadow was against the forces of bullying. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes, preparing to take a nap before he went to find Sonic…

…but a familiar face already found him.

"Hey, little bro,"

Tails opened his eyes and gasped. Sonic the Hedgehog stood over him with a soft smile on his face.

"S-Sonic?" the fox panicked. "H-how did you find me?"

"You always come to Green Hill when you're depressed," Sonic sat next to his best friend. "Amy comes here too. For some reason, this place is great for clearing your mind… heck, I always come here whenever I feel down about something… but my feelings aren't important… are you okay, Tails?"

The fox gulped and gave a nervous smile. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Sonic frowned. "Because you ran away earlier… those kids said some awful things to you… I want to make sure you're okay… Tails, I get the feeling something's bothering you, and I'm wondering what it is. So, tell me… what's bothering you, little buddy?"

Tails' heart pounded like a drum. "N-nothing's wrong with me, I swear… I'm okay, Sonic. I know better than to let some stupid kids ruin my day."

"Then how come you're letting a trailer ruin your day?"

The kitsune's bluebell eyes lit up and his heart came to a stop. He slowly turned to the hedgehog and rubbed his head. "How did you…"

"Charmy told me you watched the _OK K.O. and Sonic _crossover trailer this morning. He said you were really into it, but you shut it off at one particular scene… I think you know what scene I'm talking about."

Tails was silent. He didn't know what to say next.

Sonic felt the same way until he said, "What is it about that trailer that bothers you?"

The question he's been waiting to hear was finally asked. The fox took a deep breath and gently closed his eyes. A few small tears flowed from his cheeks, but he wiped them away, hoping his older brother wouldn't see him crying like a toddler.

"Well… it's just that, Sonic," Tails spoke after a low sigh. "The promo made me come off as someone who was nothing more than a loser. And that's not even the worst part, I looked at the comments and they all said I don't deserve to be your sidekick… and they're right…"

Sonic's eyes widened when he heard that.

"Now that I think about it, I've screwed up so much that I wonder why you still keep me around," the fox continued. "When you turned into a Werehog and helped Chip restore all the Gaia Temples, I did nothing but fly around in my Tornado. And I cowered in fear once I saw those Dark Gaia creatures. I wanted to fight back, but for some reason, I couldn't… Then, I created a malfunctioning Wisp translator that didn't even work half the time. All it did was make the Wisps sound like idiots…

"Then, when we were traveling through time with our younger selves, my younger self and I cheered you and young Sonic as you revisited stages from our past. We could've gone on the adventure, but we chose to stay behind, twiddling our thumbs like a duo of cowards… and who could ever forget the time I acted like a jerk on the Lost Hex?...

"Even though teaming up with Eggman to stop the Deadly Six wasn't the _best _idea, we didn't have a choice. Eggman knew how to shut down the machine that drained the world's energy. And throughout the entire adventure, all I did was whine, complain, and accuse you of trusting Eggman more than me…" tears flowed down the fox's eyes. "And the worst part is… I didn't even apologize to you for how I acted. You apologized… and you had nothing to be sorry for…"

Sonic partially closed his eyes. He had the same somber look on his face, as he continued listening.

"And that's when we come to our recent escapade… the war," Tails' voice shook as he spoke; tears poured down his cheeks like a waterfall. "Instead of helping you fight Infinite, I sat on the sideline and scanned for his power source, which I didn't find at all! Then, I spent six months searching for the Resistance, only to find a damaged Omega in Sunset Heights… Chaos 0 popped out of nowhere and… and… and…" the fox wiped his eyes and closed them. Even when his tears came out, he still spoke in a calm manner, which surprised Sonic. "I didn't bother to fight back… I just sat there with my arms behind my head, waiting for you to show up… and you did… to an extent…

"It was a Sonic that looked like your younger self, but he was from an alternate universe… we tried to find you, but he was the one who did all the work instead of us working together. I could have easily helped him fight Eggman's Egg Dragoon in Green Hill, but I didn't… and I don't know why. He took him down with ease and when Eggman fell to the ground, I shouted, _'Yeah! We did it!'_. I had no right to say that. Why? Because _I didn't do anything!_... _I just sat there and watched you, the other Sonic, and the Rookie do all of the work!_"

Sonic watched as his best friend buried his face into his hands.

"So, after reading those comments… after thinking about all those times I messed up… I realized those people were right… the kids at the Soleanna theater were right… what good is a sidekick if he can't even do anything useful?... Even though K.O.'s a fictional character… I think he'd make a better partner to you than I would."

As the fox drowned in his own sorrow, Sonic felt nothing, but grief ran through his veins. His mouth was partially open, and his hands were stamped together. He turned to the side, thinking about how he was going to respond to this.

Whenever Tails doubted himself, Sonic would always come and give him a boost of motivation, but this was different. His best friend hid all of this grief inside of him all this time and he didn't know about it until now.

How would someone respond to all that was said?

Sonic thought long and hard about his reply. He looked at Tails and watched him wipe his eyes.

After a few more seconds of thought, the hedgehog leaned himself closer to his friend.

"Tails… I remember all of those things you told me. I was fully aware you stayed behind on a lot of missions while I did most of the work. But I had no idea it bothered you this badly."

Tails sniffed, wiping his nose.

"But… you act like you've done no good when really, you have," Sonic continued with a soft smile. "Who was the guy who disabled a nuclear missile in Station Square? Come on, I know you know this answer."

Tails looked up and gazed into Sonic's emerald green eyes.

"Me," he whispered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What was that?" Sonic inquired, poking his ear.

"Me," Tails replied slightly louder.

"That's right, it _was _you!" Sonic pointed at the fox's chest. "You showed Eggman who's boss and saved all of those people. It was the day you realized you can take care of yourself. Of course, we always fight together, but there were times where you had to fight for yourself… and you did just that. Speaking of which, Amy told me you defeated Egghead in a straight-up fight! I wish I could've been there to see it because I bet it was awesome!"

"Yeah," Tails sniffed again. He smiled and wiped his nose. "Yeah, it was… I thought you were gone at the time, so I had no choice but to honor you by continuing the mission."

"And that's what you did, little buddy," Sonic wrapped his arm around Tails' shoulder. "And those aren't even the icing on the cake. You helped fight Metal Overlord, you rebuilt Gemerl when he was found by Cream and Vanilla, you helped track down the Gaia Temples, you fought off Black Aliens, and you even escaped from the Deadly Six in a low-key fashion. Yeah, it gave me a scare, but you fooled them, didn't you?"

"Yeah… yeah, I did."

Sharing a chuckle, the brothers had a moment of silence.

"Tails," Sonic spoke again. "I don't think you're useless and those kids are wrong about you… however, there is one thing about that trailer I want to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Remember the scene where I asked K.O. if he wants to be my new little buddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I was asking K.O. to replace you… I think I was asking K.O. if he wanted to be part of my team."

Tails was stumped. "H-huh?"

"I can understand why people including you would misunderstand this. It _did _sound like I was asking him to replace you, but I don't think that was the case. Now, the special comes out in two weeks I think, so I don't know if my reasoning is correct, but that's what I believe."

The kitsune slouched down in embarrassment, rubbing his eyes. He let out an annoyed moan before it turned into a chuckle.

"What?" Sonic asked.

"Something tells me that _is _the case," Tails replied. "Which means that I got freaked out over nothing."

"But if you didn't get freaked out, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Oh… right."

"Tails… you're more than just my sidekick, you're my best friend. Actually, let me rephrase that… you're the little brother I've never had… I'm sorry that you've been feeling this way, but I'm glad we got a chance to talk things out."

Tails nodded. "Me too… I'm sorry for not talking to you sooner. At first, I thought it was no big deal, but after seeing that teaser… I thought that it was finally time for me to say something."

Sonic grabbed his best friend and pulled him under his arm. From there, he rubbed his head with his fist, giving him a gentle noogie. "Well, you should've said something earlier! Running away like that scared the heck out of me! If you ever feel down, speak up next time! Don't angst it up like Shadow does!"

"Hey, no fair!" Tails laughed, trying to escape Sonic's grasp. "Let me go!"

After rubbing his best friend's head for three more seconds, Sonic finally released Tails.

The eight-year-old nearly fell on his feet before he regained himself.

"Now then," Sonic offered his hand. "Are we cool?"

Tails looked at his friend's glove before he happily shook it. "Yeah, we're cool… I still want to talk things out, but for now… I feel a lot better."

"Good… I'm glad you were able to voice your concerns."

"And thanks for listening, Sonic."

"Anytime, buddy. You know I would never abandon you, right?"

"Right."

The brothers shook hands again before they released.

"So, when _does _this crossover come out?" Sonic inquired.

"I think it _is _two weeks," Tails stroked his chin. "Why?"

"Wanna watch it when it comes out?"

"Sure. Even though I wasn't impressed the trailer, I might as well check it out."

"Atta boy… so, what are we gonna do for two weeks?"

_**KRAKOOM!**_

Suddenly, a massive explosion came from behind. Sonic and Tails turned around and ran towards the edge of the hill. Looking down, they watched as Dr. Eggman drove around in his Egg Mobile, commanding Metal Sonic and an army of Badniks into the area. The mad scientist gave an evil cackle before he starting capturing animals.

Sonic cracked his fingers. "Well, at least we have Eggman to keep us occupied until then."

Tails stretched his arms. "Right."

"Ready for this, little bro?"

"I want to get my courage back… so let's do this!"

With nods exchanged, the dynamic duo came down like a hurricane and attacked the Badniks.

Tails spun around, bashing three Motobugs with his twin tails.

Sonic homed in on three Slicers and evaded blasts from four Buzz Bombers.

With a spin dash, Tails wiped out the Buzz Bombers in an instant.

The two advanced onto Dr. Eggman.

"Fools!" the doctor shouted in anger. "You won't stop me this time! Metal, get them!"

Without hesitation, the metallic robot moved in on his enemies.

Tails flew into the air and offered Sonic his hand. The hedgehog grabbed it and the fox carried him to the metallic drone. Just as Metal Sonic swiped his claws, Sonic kicked him across the face. Metal Sonic fell to the ground, as the duo levitated above Dr. Eggman.

"You won't stop me this time, Sonic!"

"Don't count on it, Doc!" Tails nodded, as he and Sonic grabbed each other's hands and curled into a blue/yellow ball. They spun around at supersonic speeds and divebombed towards the doctor's vehicle. The scientist himself gulped and screamed.

Then, a single explosion ended the battle.

* * *

_~Two Weeks Later_

"Come on, Sonic! The episode's about to start!"

Inside Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins, the twin-tailed kitsune sat on the couch with a bowl of mint ice cream in his hands. He waited for his best friend to come out of the kitchen so they can watch the _OK K.O. and Sonic _crossover special. After two interminable weeks of waiting, the duo finally got together to watch it.

But if only Sonic got out of the kitchen faster.

"Come on, Sonic!" Tails called again.

"In a minute, Tails!" Sonic shouted. "It's almost done."

"You're the fastest thing alive, yet it takes you ten minutes to make a single ice cream cone?" Tails chuckled.

"Who said anything about _one _ice cream cone?"

With that, the Blue Blur came into the living room with large stacks of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream cones in his hands. He sat on the couch and handed one to Tails. The fox chuckled as he took his cone, he looked at the top of his cone and saw he had a scoop of mint ice cream with rainbow sprinkles on top.

"I'm gonna get a brain freeze if I eat this," he laughed.

"Well, that's your fault for getting a bowl of mint ice cream for yourself," Sonic teased.

"You didn't tell me you were making our desert. You just said you were going into the kitchen to make yourself something."

"_Pfft_, whatever."

The brothers exchanged more laughter.

"In all seriousness, thanks, Sonic."

"No problem, Tails… hey, before we start, are you okay from two weeks ago?"

Tails licked a few melting drops of ice cream from his cone. He grabbed a napkin and wiped his face. "Yeah. I feel a lot better… thanks for looking out for me, Sonic."

"You're welcome, little bro," Sonic winked. "If you ever need to talk to me about something… don't hesitate to come to me. I'll always be here to listen."

Tails nodded and gave a tender yet warm smile.

"So, how long is this episode?" Sonic asked.

"According to the TV settings, it's only eleven minutes long."

"That's weird. Maybe that's an error or something. A crossover like this has to be at least thirty minutes long."

"Yeah, maybe there was some glitch or something."

"When does the episode start?"

"Right… now."

Pressing the play button on his remote, Tails leaned back and enjoyed his ice cream.

"_And now… you're watching the OK K.O. and Sonic the Hedgehog crossover special!_" a narrator said on the television, as it showed a picture of KO and Sonic fist-bumping.

The two brothers enjoyed their ice cream.

"Hey, Sonic," Tails said.

"What's up, dude?"

"Wouldn't it be funny if this episode was hot garbage?"

"Ha! And it just relies on reference to be successful! That would be pretty funny."

The two licked their deserts, as the crossover began.

_**END OF STORY**_

* * *

_**POST-A/N:**_

_T-T-That's all folks!_

_We did it, everyone! Finally, I managed to finish something on here without getting Writer's Block. Now all I gotta do is finish my other Sonic story, "Awakened" and I get to doing work on my Mario Odyssey rewrite and my Sonic Forces rewrite. So this should be exciting. With this being said, I want to thank you all for helping me get through all four chapters of this story. I know this was short, but I wanted to make this story as a way of expressing about how I feel about the current state of some Sonic characters like Tails and Shadow. I feel Tails gets more flack than Shadow does because of his behavior in Lost World and Forces. Shadow's characterization didn't bother me until IDW Sonic Issue #20._

_And now for my review of the OK K.O. and Sonic crossover... it was okay._

_Honestly, I've never seen an episode of OK K.O. before, so I was expecting more than what we got. The story was pretty cookie-cutter and I feel it brought out the more jerkish side of Sonic than the good side. I liked how Tails expressed his first meeting with Sonic, which inspired K.O., but other than that and the references to Sonic's past, it was pretty lame. K.O. didn't interest me as a character and it didn't leave me wanting to watch more of his show. If Sonic had an Xover with Steven Universe, that'd be a different story, but hey, you can't win them all. If you like it, awesome! Me, I think they could've done more._

_I want to thank all of the folks who favorited and followed the story._

**_Favorites: _**_Angie Ssk, DawnOfForelskt, GuardianDragon98, ImNotPolo, Infinite's Ruby, Leodragon678, Lt. Commader Hanna Tucker (love that name!), Miss-ClaireIvy, MysteriousGirl92, Mysterious Writer 16, SharpDragonKlaw, TheGameNguyener, VampireBunny16, Witch08, elizaveta2000kuz, and sonic vs evil._

**_Followers:_** _Angie Ssk, DawnStorm2, Fern the Fox, GuardianDragon98, ImNotPolo, Infinite's Ruby, LauraP11, LeoDragon678, Lt. Commander Hanna Tucker, MysteriousGirl92, Mysterious Writer 16, Obliviblur (love that name too!), Renegade Hero, SharpDragonKlaw, Stardown, TheGameNguyener, VampireBunny16, elizaveta2000kuz, raririiriley, and sonic vs evil._

_Thanks for reading, everyone! Don't forget to R&R and I'll see you all next time! Peace out, web-heads!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


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